Category: Tuesday Night Quarterback

by Mike Pavlichko

Tuesday Night Quarterback-Episode 12: The Vote (Special Edition)

On a special edition of the “Tuesday Night Quarterback,” Mike Pavlichko takes a deeper dive into Wednesday’s historic landslide vote to remove language from the NJSIAA’s constitution that prohibited state championships in football. The move paves the way for public school group champions to be crowned by way of a five-week playoff season as early as 2022.

Dom Savino joins Mike to discuss the vote and what it means for high school football, particularly as it relates to the Big Central Conference. Mike is then joined by several guests to discuss the meaning of the vote:

  • Hillsborough head coach and NJSIAA Executive Committee member Kevin Carty Jr.
  • Hackensack head coach, NJSIAA Executive Committee member and NJ State Assembly Deputy Speaker Benjie Wimberly (D-35)
  • Former East Brunswick head coach, two-time state champ and MyCentralJersey.com football analyst Marcus Borden
by Mike Pavlichko

2020 Big Central Football Awards Show

Listen back to the entire 2020 Big Central Football Awards Show, hosted by Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino.

Segment 1 includes a brief look back at the season, as well as the Turnaround Team of the Year, Leadership Award, Longevity Award and Two-Way Player of the Year.

Segment 2 includes the “Specialty Awards,” including the Tech Wizards of the Year, Record-Setter of the Year, Mr. Consistency Award, Jack of All Trades Award, and the Medical Comeback Award.

The third and final segment features the top awards of the night: Coach of the Year, as well as Special Teams, Defensive and Offensive Player of the Year Awards.

by Mike Pavlichko

Episode 11: The Finale

The “Tuesday Night Quarterback” wraps up its debut season with host Mike Pavlichko.

Following a look at the Thanksgiving Eve games – and how many teams managed to get in at least 7 or 8 games this year, with a couple even playing nine – high school football analyst Marcus Borden of mycentraljersey.com recaps the year with Mike, including a look at some of his favorite games and players.

On the “Rutgers Recap,” Matt Bastardi of Central Jersey Sports Radio sponsor Elite QB Training Academy delves deper into the two touchdown performance of quarterback Art Sitkowski in Rutgers’ 37-30 road win at Purdue back on Saturday. Sitkowski – who starred scholastically at Old Bridge before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year – got the emergency start against the Boilermakers when it was determined just before game time a banged up Noah Vedral couldn’t go. Bastardi was Sitkowski’s personal QB coach in high school.

Matt Bastardi of Elite QB Football Training Academy trained Old Bridge/IMG Academy/Rutgers QB Art Sitkowski before he became a Scarlet Knight. Elite QB is a sponsor of Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Wrapping up, the final Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten and Big Central Media Polls are unveiled, where Somerville earned all seven first place votes, and the title of “Team of the Year.”

by Mike Pavlichko

Episode 10: The Ninety-Nine Points

The “Tuesday Night Quarterback” caps off the second week of the postseason with a look at Week 8 results, and a recap of one of the most thrilling high school football games of the season.

First, St. Joseph-Metuchen coach Rich Hilliard joins host Mike Pavlichko live to talk about the Falcons’ upset of third-ranked Cranford. Then, it’s a look back at the Hillsborough-Edison game, the “Big Central Game of the Week” powered by Bellamy and Son Paving.

In the first-ever meeting between the schools, the teams traded body blows for the final thee quarters – following Edison’s 7-0 lead after the first stanza – and the Eagles scored last, with under two minutes to play, on a one-yard run by sophomore quarterback Matt Yascko, and his ensuing two-point conversion run. That score produced the final 50-49 margin. We hear postgame reaction from Yascko and head coach Matt Fulham.

Then it’s the fourth and final “Breakfast with Harry” of 2020 from the Golden Corner Diner in Bound Brook, where Mike and legendary local high school sports writer Harry Frezza talk about high school football in Week 8, including the cancellation of the longstanding Thanksgiving Day game between Easton and Phillipsburg, and the legendary replay of their 1993 7-7- tie.

Our very own Dom Savino joins Mike for the Rutgers Recap, looking back at the Scarlet Knights’ 48-42 triple-overtime loss to Michigan. Dom was a freshman at Rutgers when RU beat the Wolverines for their first-ever Big Ten win in 2014, and a student announcer on WRSU, calling Rutgers’ 78-0 loss to Michigan in 2016.

Finally, the new Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten and Big Central Media Polls are unveiled, where Somerville maintains a unanimous lock on the top spot in both.

by Mike Pavlichko

Episode 9: The Cookie

The “Tuesday Night Quarterback” is headlined by a look at No. 2 Somerville’s win over No. 1 Woodbridge, in a battle of undefeated teams, 36-29 at Priscoe Field on the “Big Central Game of the Week” powered by Bellamy & Son Paving.

Host Mike Pavlichko takes a closer look via his postgame conversations with Somerville RB Cookie Desiderio – who scored four touchdowns in the game – and head coach Dallas Whitaker, who celebrated his 28th birthday with a victory.

Unfortunately, it was also Somerville’s last game of the 2020 season, as a COVID case on the team discovered over the weekend shut down the program for the season, cancelling their Week 8 tilt with Phillipsburg at Brooks field. It would have been the first meeting between the Pioneers and Stateliners since 1969.

Mike also has postgame reaction from Cranford’s head coach, Erik Rosenemeier, whose No. 4 Cougars knocked off undefeated and No. 3 North Brunswick at home Friday night. There’s more audio from South Hunterdon’s third win of the season, which came Saturday on the “Big Central Game of the Week” powered by Bellamy & Son Paving against Metuchen.

And Bernards head coach Jon Simoneau talks about how his team used modern technology to solve a big problem for his offense brought on by COVID.

READ MORE: Bernards coaching staff just crushed COVID, with an assist from Zoom

Then it’s installment number three of “Breakfast with Harry” from the Golden Corner Diner in Bound Brook, where Mike and legendary local high school sports writer Harry Frezza talk about high school football in Week 7, as well as biking, New Jersey’s favorite fast food chain, and run into a former Bridgewater-Raritan standout.

One of Rutgers’ all-time great QBs – Mike Teel – joins Pavlichko on the “Rutgers Recap” to look back at a tough loss to Illinois, get inside current starting QB Noah Vedral’s head, and see what “green” initiative Teel is now involved in after stepping aside from coaching.

Finally, the new Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten and Big Central Media Polls are unveiled, with as Somerville swoops into the top spot on the strength of their win over Woodbridge.

by Mike Pavlichko

Episode 8: The COVID Cutoff

The “Tuesday Night Quarterback” is back at what would normally be the cutoff for the high school football playoffs. Instead, New Jersey is playing two weeks of “postseason” matchups, with some impressive contests on tap.

Host Mike Pavlichko looks at how the Top Ten fared, recapping the Friday and Saturday versions of the “Big Central Game of the Week” powered by Bellamy & Son Paving: No. 5 Ridge defeating Hillsborough at home, and No. 1 and undefeated Woodbridge remaining perfect with a shutout win at St. Joseph-Metuchen.

Dom Savino has postgame reaction from Ridge coach Andy West and QB Michael Olivo, as well as Woodbridge head coach Joe LaSala and runningback Ali Lee, Jr.

Mike also talks with Westfield’s Jim DeSarno and Manville’s Pat Gorbatuk about their seasons being cancelled at this late stage of the game due to COVID.

Then it’s installment number two of “Breakfast with Harry” from the Golden Corner Diner in Bound Brook, where Mike and legendary local high school sports writer Harry Frezza talk about plenty of football action in Week 6, and speculate about the future of the postseason in New Jersey.

George Ross of New Jersey Recruit Look talks about some of the challenges student-athletes face in getting noticed by high school coaches in a crowded field of potential recruits, and some of the success stories he’s had in helping student-athletes find the right fit for them, both athletically and academically.

RU play-by-play man Chris Carlin joins Mike on the “Rutgers Recap,” looking back at the loss to Ohio State and ahead to the coming week’s home game against Illinois.

Finally, the new Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten and Big Central Media Polls are unveiled, with Woodbridge holding on to the top spot in in the CJSR survey, while finally becoming a unanimous Number One pick in the media poll.

North Brunswick head coach Mike Cipot talks about the Raiders’ perfect 6-0 regular season, and the Week 7 “postseason” matchup against Cranford, a replacement for Old Bridge, which is quarantining after last week’s opponent – Long Branch – came up with a COVID case.

by Mike Pavlichko

Bound Brook edges down to 7th in mock Week 5 UPR before COVID stoppage; Middlesex up five places after COVID return

The Week 5 mock UPR standings calculated unofficially and exclusively by Central Jersey Sports Radio show Bound Brook down from sixth to seventh place overall in the North Group 1 supersection, while Middlesex surged from 12th to seventh in South Group 1.

Unfortunately, the Crusaders have just begun a COVID shutdown after a student at the high school tested positive, and another whose parents tested positive displayed symptoms.

Meanwhile, Middlesex jumped up five places and now sits in 7th, although part of that was due to their own two-week COVID shutdown, which just ended. The Blue Jays have only played three games, and apparently moving from 1-1 to 2-1 with a win last weekend over Group 2 Spotswood moved them from 9th to 4th in power point average and was enough to support the jump, event though they fell from 11th to 12th in OSI rank.

Below are the overall standings and hypothetical brackets for the North and South Group 1 supersections:

Please take note that all calculations are unofficial, and no mechanism exists to check or confirm these numbers and standings. Strength Index and OSI are not being calculated publicly. Only records have been confirmed. All standings are purely hypothetical. Please report any discrepancies to mike@cjsportsradio.com.

by Mike Pavlichko

Episode 7: The First Breakfast

It’s another debut on “Tuesday Night Quarterback,” as Mike Pavlichko returns with a brand-new segment.

First up is a look at how the Top Ten fared and the rest of the results from Week 5 play. Student correspondents Ryan Durstewitz and Matt Lesnik cover a battle of undefeated conference teams in Old Bridge and South Brunswick, as well as Bernards versus Monmouth. Edison sophomore QB Matt Yascko talks about his long, game-winning touchdown drive against Summit. And Dom Savino has postgame reaction from Bound Brook’s big win over Manville in the “Big Central Game of the Week” powered by Bellamy & Son Paving.

Then it’s the debut of “Breakfast with Harry” from the Golden Corner Diner in Bound Brook, a new segment where Mike and legendary local high school sports writer Harry Frezza talk about football, and anything else that happens to come up.

Matt Bastardi of Elite QB Football Training Academy – in the first of a three-part series – talks about some of his success stories, how they evaluate a quarterbacks, their use of video for training, and more. Matt explains how working with a coach early can be a big help, like Zach Zebro of East Brunswick, who started with Elite QB in the seventh grade.

Former Rutgers star and Rutgers Radio Network analyst Eric LeGrand talks about the Scarlet Knights’ game against Indiana and their upcoming trip to Ohio State on “Rutgers Recap.”

Finally, the new Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten and Big Central Media Polls are unveiled, with Woodbridge holding on to the top spot in both polls, with Somerville nipping at the Barrons’ heels.

by Mike Pavlichko

Episode 6: The Warriors

On an outsized, nearly-two hour “Tuesday Night Quarterback,” Mike Pavlichko returns with some big interviews.

A look at how the Top Ten fared includes postgame reaction from Watchung Hills’ comeback win over Phillipsburg, their first-ever win over the Liners, 21-20, with Cornell-bound quarterback Chad Martini and receiver John Bechtle, as well as head coach Rich Seubert. And Mike tracks down legendary sportswriter Harry Frezza – who covered the game – at a diner in Bound Brook to talk about it.

Union head coach Lou Grasso weighs in on his team’s shutout win over ranked St. Joe’s of Metuchen, and Somerville head coach Dallas Whitaker talks about avenging last year’s defeat at the hands of Summit with a come-from-behind win in Week Four.

Dom Savino has potsgame reaction from defensive back Jelani Devonish-Wynter, QB Frankli Garbolino, and head coach Mike Cipot following North Brunswick’s thrilling 21-20 win over Edison Friday night, in the Big Central Game of the Week powered by Bellamy & Son Paving.

Matt Bastardi of Elite QB Football Training Academy discusses how he got into the business of training quarterbacks, including his time growing up in Texas and playing career at Delaware, in the first of a three-part series.

We debut a new segment with Tom Luicci of SI.com and TMG Sports (The Media Guys), where the former Rutgers and national college football beat writer for the Star-Ledger and NJ.com continues his “College Football Plus” column. Tom is our first Scarlet Knights-related guest on “Rutgers Recap,” as we look back at the week gone by in RU football.

Bryan DeNovellis of News12 New Jersey Sports – and a voter in our Big Central Media Poll – talks about how they cover so many games in one night, and the best teams he’s seen in the Big Central and even the Shore Conference in 2020.

The new Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten and Big Central Media Polls are unveiled, with a good deal of changes after four teams – Old Bridge, Phillipsburg, St. Joseph-Metuchen and Cranford all lost.

Finally, Mike explains why this year could be a test drive for future playoff structure changes.

by Mike Pavlichko

Episode 5: The Sophomores

Mike Pavlichko is back with another episode of “Tuesday Night Quarterback,” recapping Week Three action, and looking ahead to key matchups coming up in Week 4 as we begin the second half of the regular season.

Featured on the show this week are a pair of sophomore quarterbacks – Vince Jairdullo of South Brunswick and Frankie Garbolino of North Brunswick – both of whom have helped pilot their teams to 3-0 starts.

Also featured this week: North Plainfield’s 3-0 start, Bound Brook’s first-ever win over a Group 3 school in decades (Voorhees), and a look at Ridge off to a 2-1 start.

We also get to hear the debuts of CJSR’s student correspondents – future sports broadcasters at local high schools who will contribute to our coverage this season – Matt Lesnik of Bernards with a recap of the Mountaineers’ win over Governor Livingston – and Ryan Dusrstewitz of Old Bridge, who interviews Old Bridge RB Lawrence Hunter and head coach Anthony Lanzafama after their win over Perth Amboy.

Plus, Mike speaks with George Ross of New Jersey Recruit Look for the second of a three-part series to talk about how COVID-19 has affected the recruiting process.

The new Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten and Big Central Media Polls are unveiled, with no change at the top, but a bit of shuffling at the bottom.